Shatabdi Express
Series of Express day train in India
Shatabdi Express (lit. ' Century Express ' ) are a series of fast passenger trains operated by Indian Railways . Shatabdi Express are day trains and mostly return to their origin station the same day. The trains run at a maximum permissible speed of 110–150 km/h (68–93 mph)[ 1] with the Rani Kamalapati–New Delhi Shatabdi Express achieving the maximum permissible speed of 150 km/h (93 mph) between Tughlakabad and Bilochpura Agra.
History
The name "Shatabdi" means century in Sanskrit and the first Shatabdi Express train was announced on 10 July 1988 by then Railways Minister Madhavrao Scindia to commemorate the birth centenary of Jawaharlal Nehru , the first Prime Minister of India and plied between New Delhi and Jhansi Junction .[ 2]
Service
Interior view of an AC chair car coach
Shatabdi Express trains offer fast connectivity between major cities with only a few intermediate stops and can run at a maximum speed of 150 km/h (93 mph).[ 3] [ 4] [ 5] They are fully air-conditioned and passengers are provided with on-board catering .[ 6] Onboard entertainment systems are available in select trains providing content via satellite.[ 7]
Seats in Shatabdi Express have to be reserved in advance as there is no unreserved accommodation, unlike most of the other trains in India.[ 8] Reservation is allowed until up to 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time and the seats are auto allocated by the reservation system.[ 9] [ 10] Dynamic pricing is applicable on the fares.[ 11]
Rolling stock
Exterior of a standard chair car coach
As Shatabdi Express are day-trains and return to the station of origin the same day, coaches have only seats and not berths. All of these trains have multiple AC Chair Car coaches and one or two coaches of Executive Class seating. Indian Railways offers Anubhuti class seating and Vistadome coaches offering large windows, transparent roofing, and rotatable seats in select trains.[ 12] The trains used to operate on specialized coaches manufactured by Integral Coach Factory , Chennai with the older coaches now been replaced with newer LHB rakes on all the trains.[ 13] The trains are hauled by various diesel or electric locomotives and a new specialized high speed locomotive class WAP-7HS with a maximum speed of 180 km/h (110 mph) for hauling Shatabdi express trains was introduced in 2019.[ 14]
Services
Active
As of August 06[update] , there are 21 operational pairs of Shatabdi express trains.[ 15]
List of active services
Sr. no.
Route
Train no.
Originating Station
Terminal Station
Operator
Distance
Duration
Avg Speed (Km/h)
Year introduced
Stops
1
Rani Kamalapati – New Delhi
12001/12002
Rani Kamalapati
New Delhi
NR
709 km (441 mi)
8h 40m
82 km/h (51 mph)
1988
Bhopal Jn. ,Bina Jn. ,Lalitpur Jn. , Jhansi Jn. , Gwalior Jn. , Morena , Dholpur Jn. , Agra Cantt. , Mathura Jn.
2
Lucknow–New Delhi
12003/12004
Lucknow Jn.
New Delhi
NR
512 km (318 mi)
6h 45m
75 km/h (47 mph)
1989
Kanpur Central , Phaphund , Etawah Jn. , Tundla Jn. , Aligarh Jn. , Ghaziabad Jn.
3
New Delhi–Kalka
12005/12006
New Delhi
Kalka
NR
269 km (167 mi)
4h 0m
67 km/h (42 mph)
1989
Panipat Jn. , Kurukshetra Jn. , Ambala Cantt. Jn. , Chandigarh Jn.
4
MGR Chennai Central–Mysuru
12007/12008
MGR Chennai Central
Mysuru Jn.
SR
497 km (309 mi)
7h 0m
71 km/h (44 mph)
1994
Katpadi Jn. , KSR Bengaluru
5
Mumbai Central–Ahmedabad
12009/12010
Mumbai Central
Ahmedabad Jn.
WR
493 km (306 mi)
6h 20m
78 km/h (48 mph)
1994
Borivali , Vapi , Surat , Bharuch Jn. , Vadodara Jn. , Anand Jn. , Nadiad Jn.
6
New Delhi–Kalka
12011/12012
New Delhi
Kalka
NR
269 km (167 mi)
4h 0m
67 km/h (42 mph)
1994
Sonipat Jn. , Panipat Jn. , Kurukshetra Jn. , Ambala Cantt. Jn. , Chandigarh Jn.
7
New Delhi–Amritsar
12013/12014
New Delhi
Amritsar Jn.
NR
448 km (278 mi)
6h 10m
73 km/h (45 mph)
1994
Ambala Cantt. Jn. , Sirhind , Ludhiana , Phagwara , Jalandhar City Jn. , Beas Jn.
8
New Delhi–Ajmer
12015/12016
New Delhi
Ajmer Jn.
NR
444 km (276 mi)
6h 45m
66 km/h (41 mph)
1994
Delhi Cantt. , Gurgaon , Rewari Jn. , Alwar Jn. , Bandikui Jn. , Gandhinagar , Jaipur Jn. , Kishangarh
9
New Delhi–Dehradun
12017/12018
New Delhi
Dehradun
NR
314 km (195 mi)
6h 10m
51 km/h (32 mph)
1995
Ghaziabad Jn. , Meerut City Jn. , Muzaffarnagar , Saharanpur Jn. , Roorkee , Haridwar
10
Howrah–Ranchi
12019/12020
Howrah Jn.
Ranchi Jn.
ER
423 km (263 mi)
7h 10m
59 km/h (37 mph)
1995
Durgapur , Raniganj , Asansol , Dhanbad , Chandrapura , Bokaro Steel City , Muri
11
Pune–Secunderabad
12025/12026
Pune Jn.
Secunderabad Jn.
CR
597 km (371 mi)
8h 20m
72 km/h (45 mph)
2011
Solapur , Kalaburagi , Wadi Jn. , Tandur , Vikarabad Jn. , Begumpet
12
Chennai–Bengaluru
12027/12028
MGR Chennai Central
KSR Bengaluru
SWR
359 km (223 mi)
4h 55m
73 km/h (45 mph)
2005
Katpadi Jn. ,
Jolarpettai Jn. ,
Bengaluru Cantt.
13
New Delhi–Amritsar
12029/12030
New Delhi
Amritsar Jn.
NR
448 km (278 mi)
6h 10m
73 km/h (45 mph)
1998
Ambala Cantt. Jn. , Rajpura Jn. , Ludhiana , Phagwara , Jalandhar City Jn. , Beas Jn.
14
New Delhi–Amritsar
12031/12032
New Delhi
Amritsar Jn.
NR
448 km (278 mi)
6h 10m
73 km/h (45 mph)
1997
Ambala Cantt. Jn. , Rajpura Jn. , Ludhiana , Phagwara , Jalandhar City Jn. , Beas Jn.
15
Kanpur Central–New Delhi
12033/12034
Kanpur Central
New Delhi
NCR
440 km (270 mi)
4h 55m
88 km/h (55 mph)
2010
Etawah , Aligarh , Ghaziabad Jn.
16
Kathgodam–New Delhi
12039/12040
Kathgodam
New Delhi
NR
282 km (175 mi)
5h 40m
50 km/h (31 mph)
2012
Haldwani , Lalkuan Jn. , Rudrapur , Rampur , Moradabad , Ghaziabad Jn.
17
Howrah–New Jalpaiguri
12041/12042
Howrah Jn.
New Jalpaiguri Jn.
NFR
566 km (352 mi)
8h 30m
67 km/h (42 mph)
2012
Bardhaman Jn. , Bolpur Shantiniketan , New Farakka Jn. , Malda Town , Kishanganj
18
New Delhi–Chandigarh
12045/12046
New Delhi
Chandigarh Jn.
NR
244 km (152 mi)
3h 20m
78 km/h (48 mph)
2013
Ambala Cantt. Jn. , Karnal
19
Naharlagun–Guwahati
12087/12088
Naharlagun
Guwahati
NFR
332 km (206 mi)
5h 45m
58 km/h (36 mph)
2017
Harmuti Jn. , Viswanath Charali , Rangapara North Jn. , Udalguri , Rangiya Jn.
20
MGR Chennai Central–Coimbatore
12243/12244
MGR Chennai Central
Coimbatore Jn.
SR
493 km (306 mi)
7h 5m
70 km/h (43 mph)
2013
Katpadi Jn. , Jolarpettai Jn. , Salem Jn. , Erode Jn. , Tiruppur
21
Howrah – Puri
12277/12278
Howrah Jn.
Puri
ECoR
500 km (310 mi)
7h 35m
66 km/h (41 mph)
2010
Kharagpur Jn. , Balasore , Bhadrak , Jajpur Keonjhar Road , Cuttack , Bhubaneswar
Defunct
Trivia
See also
References
^ "Shatabdi Express 2024: A list of operational Shatabdi routes, schedules, and more" . The Indian Express . 23 February 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024 . Shatabdi Express Running Status: Among one of the fastest trains of Indian Railways, running at up to 130–150 km/h (81–93 mph), the Shatabdi Express trains are a series of fast passenger trains operated by Indian Railways to connect metro cities with other cities.
^ "Bharat train routes and India's busy election calendar" . Indian Express . 14 October 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022 .
^ " 'Shatabdi is the heart of Indian railways' " . The Times of India . Archived from the original on 12 June 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2014 .
^ "No halts, new Shatabdi Express to fly to Delhi" . The Times of India . Archived from the original on 18 September 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2014 .
^ "Trains faster than Rajdhani, Shatabdi on the cards" . Economic Times . 23 January 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2022 .
^ "From Vande Bharat to Rajdhani Express: Check list of top 10 fastest trains in India" . News9 . 28 September 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022 .
^ "Shatabdi Express is now 'Gold Standard'; Free movies on WiFi to clean toilets, 15 facts every rail passenger will love" . Financial express . 6 November 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2021 .
^ "Railways to also run AC trains from June 1; Shatabadis, Durontos to be restored" . Hindustan Times . 21 May 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2022 .
^ "Good news for Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi Express travellers! Book tickets even after chart preparation soon" . Zee Business . Retrieved 5 November 2022 .
^ "Why IRCTC Does Not Allow Seat-Selection Option To Its Passengers" . News18 . 14 June 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022 .
^ "New-fare-scheme-for-Rajdhani-Shatabdi-from-15-March-2019-5.html" . Mint . 20 November 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2021 .
^ "Vistadome coach promises scenic journey" . The Hindu . 27 August 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022 .
^ "Safe and smooth Indian Railways travel! These trains to run with LHB rakes" . Financial Express . 27 April 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022 .
^ "New Indian Railways locomotive runs at 180 kmph! Rajdhani, Shatabdi trains to get it soon" . Financial Express . 19 August 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2022 .
^ "India Rail timetable" . Indian Railways. Retrieved 5 December 2023 .
^ a b c Railway budget 1995-96 (PDF) (Report). Government of India . Retrieved 1 December 2023 .
^ Railway budget 1996-97 (PDF) (Report). Government of India . Retrieved 1 December 2023 .
^ a b c Lok Sabha debates (PDF) (Report). Government of India . Retrieved 1 December 2023 .
^ "CAG pulls up Railways over Shatabdis" . Rediff . 5 August 2002. Retrieved 1 December 2023 .
^ "Amid suspense over train route, Shatabdi flag off cancelled" . 28 October 2014.
^ a b c "Cancellation of Shatabdi" (Press release). Indian Railways . 4 March 2003. Retrieved 17 August 2023 .
^ a b c "Three Shatabdi Expresses to be discontinued" . The Times of India . 4 March 2003. ISSN 0971-8257 . Retrieved 17 August 2023 .
^ "Withdrawal of Shatabdi" (Press release). Indian Railways . 12 December 2004. Retrieved 17 August 2023 .
^ "Good news for Shatabdi commuters" . The Times of India . 4 March 2004. Retrieved 1 December 2023 .
^ "No Jaipur to Agra Shatabadi train from May 1 onwards" . The Times of India . 22 March 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2023 .
^ "New Delhi–Ludhiana Shatabdi Express to be introduced on Nov 4" . The Times of India . 29 October 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011 .
^ "Ludhiana Shatabdi set to be history" . The Times of India . 9 August 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2023 .
^ "Shatabdi extended to Moga, twice a week" . Hindustan Times . 28 March 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014 .
^ "New Delhi–Moga Shatabdi Express" . Indiarailinfo . Retrieved 1 December 2023 .
^ "New Delhi-Bathinda Shatabdi extended to Firozpur" . The Hindu . 6 October 2016. ISSN 0971-751X . Retrieved 10 February 2023 .
^ "Eight trains cancelled" . Tribune India . 20 March 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2023 .
^ "Guwahati–Dibrugarh Shatabdi Express" . Indiarailinfo . Retrieved 1 December 2023 .
External links